Buttermilk Sugar Biscuits
Updated Oct. 12, 2023
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 55 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1cup/227 grams cold unsalted butter
- 3⅓cups/425 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- ½cup/100 grams granulated sugar
- 1tablespoon baking powder
- 2½teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) or 1¾ teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1¼cups/300 grams cold buttermilk
- Melted butter and flaky sea salt (both optional), for finishing
Nutritional analysis per serving (9 servings)
422 calories; 23 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 49 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 13 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 279 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 375 degrees and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or foil.
- Step 2
Coarsely grate the butter onto a plate, then freeze until cold and hard, at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter to the dry ingredients. Using a spoon, toss together until all of the butter is coated with flour.
- Step 3
Add half the buttermilk and toss with the spoon. When incorporated, add the rest of the buttermilk and gently toss again, without mashing together or overmixing, until the dry ingredients are lightly hydrated throughout. The mixture will be crumbly.
- Step 4
Flour a clean surface and dump the mixture directly onto it. Using your hands, gently press the crumbs together and then use a floured rolling pin or empty wine bottle to roll the mass gently but firmly into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Fold the dough in half: Using a bench scraper, lift the top half off the surface and fold it over the bottom half. This step may be crumbly and messy at first, but just go for it and fold what you can down from the top. Repeat this roll-and-fold motion 5 times, flouring the surface and dough as needed and using the bench scraper to straighten the edges as needed. The dough will come together as you roll it. Rotate the mixture after each fold to create a square.
- Step 5
Build the final layer: Fold the dough in half one last time, then roll to about 1½ inches thick to create a 6-inch square, using the bench scraper to straighten out the edges.
- Step 6
Using the bench scraper or a sharp knife, cut straight down into the square to create a 3-by-3 grid of 9 squares, then place them on your sheet pan, upside down if you’d like taller biscuits. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until risen, golden brown on top, and slightly pale on the sides. Don’t worry if a couple of the biscuits tip over or if melted butter pools underneath. Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if using.
Private Notes
Comments
I've asked this question many times and have never received an answer from NYT Cooking or NYT Bakers. King Arthur Flour, easily called "The Gold Standard" for flour, lists the weight of AP flour at 120 grams/Cup. 3.33 Cups would equal 399.6 grams. Humidity, etc, etc can cause some variance, of course, but, to me, NYT baking recipes are all over the place on flour weights . . . except for Claire Saffitz' recipes!
For those of you confused by the folding process- there’s a lovely video on YouTube Briana made during COVID times when they sold this biscuit recipe to support the bakery. Just put her name in the search bar and it should come up. And for the record, these biscuits are absolute perfection.
I've been making biscuits for 53 years now. Some are poor, some are good and some are great. I just read a lot of these notes that you folks wrote about making these biscuits and I'm flabbergasted! For heavens sake just make the biscuits! Don't worry if it's 2 grams off. If you don't like what you made do it again! And for heavens sake have fun and experiment! That's a big part of what this cooking thing is supposed to be.
Not as easy as Eric makes it look! Shredding butter is messy as the butter warms up and you end up just throwing it in the pile eventually! Is there a better way to incorporate the butter?
Can someone let me know if reducing the amount of sugar to use these for a savory purpose changes the recipe / final texture significantly?
Splendid tender, flakey, layered and just a little sweet biscuits made by my hubby exactly as the recipe was written. Similar to Alison Roman's biscuit recipe for ingredients but technique (as in grating butter in this) and sugar content (hers only 1 1/2 tsp) differ. Until now I would have given hers the 'best' award of the umpteen biscuit recipes used over the years but now this one takes the crown. I may reduce sugar to 6T (from 1/2C) next time. Or not. Outstanding. Watch the video.